“New York Medical College is devoted to supporting efforts to address the problems of excessive opiate prescription across the nation,”

Contact: Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A. Vice President of Communications New York Medical College (914) 594-4552jennifer_riekert@nymc.edu

NYMC Joins Medical Schools Across the County who Pledge to Provide Prescriber Education

Valhalla, N.Y., April 13, 2016– At the recent National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, President Obama remarked that addressing the epidemic of prescription pill addiction and overdose is a priority for his administration. According to the White House website, President Obama is prioritizing this issue through increased efforts to expand access to treatment, prevent overdose deaths, and increase community prevention strategies.

“New York Medical College is devoted to supporting efforts to address the problems of excessive opiate prescription across the nation,” said Dean of the School of Medicine at NYMC, D. Douglas Miller, M.D., C.M., M.B.A. “Providing the necessary education on proper prescription of all opiates is just one vital step in the process of dramatically lowering the amount of overdose deaths that occur each year.”

In coordination with the national attention this issue is receiving, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recently released a statement signed by 69 member medical schools, including New York Medical College. These member schools have pledged to, at minimum, “require their students to take some form of prescriber education, in line with the newly-released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, in order to graduate.”

The new NYMC curriculum that tackles this national public health issue will be fully integrated during the fall. Students will be educated on the dangers of overprescribing opiate painkillers and the ways this issue can contribute to abuse and dependence. St. Joseph’s Healthcare System in Paterson, New Jersey, a major clinical affiliate site of NYMC, recently announced it is stopping the prescription of opioids in its emergency medicine department.

About New York Medical College

Founded in 1860, NYMC is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the cry with more than 1,400 students, 1,300 residents and clinical fellows, nearly 3,000 faculty members, and 19,000 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers advanced degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences and Practice. The College manages more than $32.6 million in research and other sponsored programs, notably in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, kidney disease, the neurosciences, disaster medicine, and vaccine development. With a network of affiliated hospitals that includes large urban medical centers, small suburban clinics and high-tech regional tertiary care facilities, NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities throughout the tri-state region for medical students, residents, and other health providers.